The INCREDIBLE Dev Story Behind Final Fantasy V

[@FinalFantasyUnion]

Thank you for watching! If you'd like to see videos like this early, and get updates on scripts as they progress, please consider supporting us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/ffunion

[@anime-mun]

I have a question for when you do The Story of Final Fantasy VI. Will you mention the 2017 T-Edition rom hack of the game or will that get its own video?

[@zenone9698]

Did you know Xenoblade 3 job system was reference to ffv job system.

[@HiroesX81]

Cant but please keep up the good work. Archiving these things into videos is fantastic work

[@HAVOCprojects]

This was the very first Final Fantasy title I played, and I had the most fun replaying it to try out different job combination and exploring their abilities. Also, the English translation for FFV Advance was pure gold. Only in that translation could we see Butz getting a fish in his shorts, have the party serve an overgrown lobster with cheese biscuits & mashed potatoes (thank you Cid), get PUNished for making bad jokes with Galuf in his castle, make the turtle sage think he's Michelangelo, or make Gilgamesh say "It's morphin' time". Good times. Despite how underrated FFV is, it has crept up to become one of my favorites.

[@SugaryMiyamoto]

5 is my favorite Final Fantasy!!! Thank you so much for the upload, I've been feeling really nostalgic for this one recently and this was such a joy to check out

[@derekminna]

Another "FFV is my favorite game" person like myself. I play it every year and it never gets old. The most replayable game in the series. They dont make them like they used to.

[@twelfthknight]

Hearing about the development, this is the first Final Fantasy where I really appreciated everything that went into it. I explored all the Job mechanics and combinations, looked for every interesting non-standard method of overcoming the extensive number of boss encounters, exploited every interesting bit of equipment, went to all the optional dungeons, and did all the side story events I could find. FFV is just a fun game to mess around with, where even when you find an overpowered setup if feels like a reward for curiosity and effort rather than because the developers didn't play-test it enough.

[@joshcoughx]

This video is absolutely incredible. The amount of research you must have had to do, and the amount of detail in it is just staggering. I love this channel so much. Long live Galuf.

[@LunarWingCloud]

Just played V recently this year with the Pixel Remaster Oh my god I was missing out for a long time This game is insanely good

[@Necromass]

You should play the original or PS1 version.

[@orangejjay]

​@@NecromassHow come?

[@ultrazappy7815]

It's an amazing title, that's sadly literally slept on because it's sandwiched between 4 and 6, but 5 is just as good.

[@briang5442]

Same! loved it. So glad i did before rebirth. Loved Gilgamesh stuff sooooo much

[@bobjoemac1]

This was the biggest enigma to 12 year old me. Learning bits and pieces through magazines that they had done some hijinks with the final fantasy numbers and being unsure what games were what until i was old enough to navigate the world of emulation and get my hands on this literal hidden gem... only to be unable to get passed the ship graveyard because of the water transparency not working haha. Had to wait even longer to continue to adventure of Butz and friends. Much later a friend told me i could turn off the graphic layer and solve that problem. Bizarrely enoough the ps1 ports came out almost exactly when i overcame that hurdle. Anyways here I am 25ish years later still loving the game and coming up with crazy ways to play it on the Switch.

[@fun2building]

Crazy that you uploaded this the very day I finished this game What are the odds

[@Dekuwarrior]

I love this game.Never get tired of it and a comfort game throughout many years.

[@JamesShow]

Man, love that you went so far back to the beginning of what was on the market, how games were evolving that led to this game even being considered to be developed.

[@queentribble2019]

Having had recent heart surgery, your videos are just about the best thing going on in my life. Very healthy. 😂 Much love from Portland

[@stevemanart]

>Classic Attacks like 1,000 Needles and Goblin Punch Those attacks debuted in FFV... yeah they went on to be classics but they weren't that yet

[@georgehouliaras7239]

I suppose this was unaVOIDable. -The Evil Lord Exdeath.

[@shiruotakuno28]

My favorite part of ff5 is when the tree guy showed up, said "it's voiding time" and voided all over the place

[@RaynmanPlays]

"Make a game based on Tetris." "Well, this is KIND of like Tetris." "In what way?" "It is a game and there are colors and shapes."

[@thespecialbru]

A really excellent summary of FFV’s development. I’ve enjoyed all of your summary videos, keep it up!

[@WilliamScavengerFish]

Mix and blue magic is a ton of fun

[@cpthardluck]

I have an aversion to completing JRPGs, and this is one I really should have finished. Maybe this will get me to try again soon...

[@Ch0c0b0]

Do it! Its got a great finale :]

[@DroWarriorOfLight]

Perfect anniversary timing, another banger from FFU 👏 Excited to watch it fully

[@Blazbaros]

Fantastic video, always intrigued on the behind-the-scenes stories of games and how they got there.

[@angelodegiule1753]

80 minutes about my favorite game ever. Hell yeah

[@chrisray9653]

I have Final Fantasy V on iOS on a modern iPhone, even though it is unlisted on app stores. I bought it in the early 2010s and it was essentially the Advance port, but when I redownloaded it my save files were gone but it was the Steam version. :/

[@lordphinix3]

Great work as always, already anxiously awaiting VI!

[@chilicheesejay]

I still have my VHS copies of Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals that I found for sale at a Hastings back in 1997. I watched those before I was obviously able to play FF5. I played the translated ROM back in 2000 before I got my hands on the Anthology copy (boy was that a nightmare to play), and the GBA port was an amazing experience. I recently got the PS4 phsycial copy of the Pixel Remasters and finished 3, and am about to finish 2 (FINALLLLY after all these years of being frustrated with trying to play it). The moment I finish up with 2, I can't wait to start up 5. These Pixel Remasters are absolutely amazing to this 42 year old who has been playing Final Fantasy since 1990.

[@careyraymartell]

This was a very in-depth video however you missed a very important thing -- the fan translation made by RPGe. The ROM hacking community of the late 90s is 100% responsible for why FF7 did so well. By the time it came out all the teens / college kids who had been playing FF5 fan trans. and the one for Seiken Densetsu 3 had fallen in love with Square games. The problem before is the home game market was driven by the rental stores purchasing habits. Kids would rent games before buying them to test them out. Lots of rental stores either didnt carry RPGs at all or only 1 copy. That made it hard to rent befote commiting to buy. The internet and ROM hacks changed this, let tons of games kids had never played become accessible. So when FF7 came out legions of fans who had played FF5 fan trans bought it. Source; I lived through this era! Fan subs for FF5 were downloaded hundreds of thousands of times before FF7 came out. It isnt listed on Google but a partial sub patch for these games was released in 97.

[@UnparalleledDev0]

100% true. I also remember when the FF5 fan translation came out in the late 90s. considered to be the first rpg to be fully translated. it was nothing short of monumental. i got as far as the ship graveyard but the transparency effects of my emulator made the mist solid and I couldn't progress. great video by FFunion as usual. must take forever to put it together. but they missed a huge chunk of history.

[@Wajulillo]

Final Fantasy V is so sadly underrated. Sure it doesn't have a big story like 6 and 7, and the characters are bland and weak, but this game introduced SO MANY good things to later games. First of all, introduced the first decent job system in any final fantasy (sorry ff3, most of your jobs were useless or upgrades of base clases) and lots of iconic skills, like blue magic, beastmaster's control, mimic, the mix command, thow money, spellblade skills... Second, it's one of the final fantasies with the most replayable capability. So many job combinations and challenges are possible in this game that makes the game experience so unique everytime you play It. Let's not forget is the first Final Fantasy with optional super bosses battles! Finally, the music is superb and has lots of many iconic themes. Yeah they aren't as memorable as Terra's theme, Red Wings and others, but Battle on the Big Bridge and everything related to Gilgamesh is so strongly relevant EVEN in newer games. It's just amazing! Definitely not a top 5 final fantasy, I can understand it. But this game deserves a lot more love than it usually receives.

[@GaryYu-d2e]

the characters were goated. luv bartz and galuf.

[@OgMist_]

5 was my first ff game and probably the best of the franchise imo. the creatures , bosses and monsters you fight are fascinating to just look at

[@CmotDribbler]

I had the OVA on VHS. played the fan translation in high school. Have the original IOS version on my phone. Love this game in my top three final fantasy games!

[@TheRevengeOfKhat57]

That Legend of the Crystal OVA was actually my introduction to the FF franchise and well... let's just say it's a good thing I was 12 years old and new to anime, or I may very well have never looked more into the series.

[@hidrocity]

thank you so much for making this video! 5 deserves more love 🙏

[@Docsanta]

Great video. Love this long form content

[@thiagoyuki6816]

Happy birthday ffv

[@mrdeatheli]

Thank you!

[@harobed96]

Yes! Been so looking forward to this one ❤

[@StephenMehlo]

That was a great summary. I’d never noticed the swing between even and odd games’ design focus but in hindsight it makes sense. It would be great if those FMV from the PAOne release were included in the Pixel Remasters. It’s not much additional content but they were sharp little videos and a shame to have them apart from the current iteration.

[@kaseywahl]

Holy shit, late '80s and early '90s Square sounds like every aspiring developer's dream job.

[@zupasha]

FF5 is my favourite of the pixel era. The combat system is one of my favourites. there are other games that have better systems, but FF5 is what I compare everything against. It's basically my standard. Story wise, it's give or take, I'm just really into the game itself.

[@Massacretalitor]

Out of the first six games, there never was any question in my mind: V is the best. The soundtrack, the world and the characters are something that always stick with me. Especially the soundtrack.

[@WilliamScavengerFish]

5:44 romancing saga 3 a favourite of mine.

[@mr.horse1801]

Never wanted it to be my favorite, but its my favorite.

[@Pidgeottamer]

Keep up the good work! and walk your Torgals!

[@sanchansama9356]

This was FANTASTIC!! Excited for FF6 & FF7 to get Their Own similar Vids 💯💯🎮🎮✌🏽✌🏽

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Yei! My first FF.

[@MauroHernandezEDU]

Amazing work. 😊

[@بهزادسالمی-م9ث]

I Can't wait for 1993. Thinks For Your Hard Work

[@CosilHeiir]

And we are finally almost there to the greatest game of all time, final fantasy 6 Well I have to see, I personally love ff5, even tho I have seen it not being liked, it's simple yet still really really good

[@Ch0c0b0]

For me, its as good as 7 and 10, and just barely better than 6!

[@davids2977]

56:07 I would say this is the same issue we have today. I love the FF franchise, but I am skeptical of its future after the lack of RPG elements in 13-16. The games are mostly really good, but holy crap do they feel very disjointed when it comes to their identity.

[@Ziphreeon]

I know it's the small fish in USA, but I wish there was a Dragon Quest Union. Your style with that games legacy would be incredibly bingeworthy.

[@Kevinsyel]

that comment about Final Fantasy IV failing to pull elementary school students is hilarious. This game was my gateway drug into Final Fantasy and I remember renting it ALL the time as a 1st grader.

[@Darkfawfulx]

Square was bad on marketing back then too.

[@WilliamScavengerFish]

The exit mechanic wasn't a problem.

[@ty_sylicus]

I miss those old FMVs from PS1.

[@MWofs]

Playing this now

[@edcaous]

Now that's interesting. So V constantly ran into storage issues? Did VI have the same problem? Were there any changes to the cartridges used for snes games that allowed developers to fit more storage?

[@RustySpoon126]

WOO IT'S TIME FOR THE GOAT

[@princegroove]

Mow Final Fantasy goodness. Yay!

[@nor4205]

I played FF5 when it was released on the PlayStation around 2000. I tried FF6 but I couldn't connect to it... the graphics were... I don't know why but I found them so irritating, I dob't recall getting into the plot or the characters. So I tried FF5, expecting it to be even worse and I just fell in love with the game. Watching this brought back a lot of memories and I would love to play it again today! Recently I have been replaying FF7, 8 and 9 on my Xbox and if there was a decent version of FF5 available now I would jump on it. Sadly I've read a lot of bad reviews on whatever that Steam or Mobile version is like so I guess I will hold out again for another decade to pass, when a decent version might finally be available.

[@djblaklite]

i love this this is great!

[@aspieatheist6040]

That one CD had a latino theme to it, but the mambo is an Italian dance/music style, not a Spanish/latino one.

[@GlerpidyGlarson]

This game brought us the best character ever Gilgamesh And the dumbest villain I've ever seen in my entire life. He has no purpose other than being a dick to the main characters the whole game

[@cb3648]

Love when they brought him back as a summon in 8.

[@GlerpidyGlarson]

@cb3648 yeeee

[@MoonMagicks]

Exdeath is an underated villain! He poses a huge threat throughout the game and is extremely cocky. He also kills a main character and destroys entire locations.

[@GlerpidyGlarson]

@MoonMagicks I mean his motivations. They are pretty much just. Ex-death: ahem. EVILLLLL VOIDDD MERGE WORLDS 🌎🌍 SO I CAN FINALLY HAVE THE MCRIB. that's totally what happened.

[@shiruotakuno28]

I wish Exdeath was rewritten as a cold, uncaring force of nature that destroys all in his path instead of "I'm a bad guy mwahahaha"

[@marystone860]

This was SO damn good! I'm wondering, I have Final Fantasy 5 Advance on my Gameboy Advance SP, is mine the one that has the secret area after you beat the game, the one that let's you be a Necromancer? IF so, that would be COOL AF!

[@GaryYu-d2e]

yeah i think so

[@HasegawaRayven]

Yes, the GBA version has 4 extra Jobs added in. Necromancer, Gladiator, Cannoneer, and Oracle ...and then they never used that version ever again, despite doing repeated rereleases

[@marystone860]

@@HasegawaRayven Oh, Thank You! I was hoping that! A Necromancer, in FF5, F YEAH! Now, I got to finish that Playthrough so I can access that Dungeon, lol!

[@shiruotakuno28]

That one reviewer who said FF5 has less replay value makes me cringe. Like... how??

[@CmotDribbler]

Backlog battles and their 22 playthroughs of the game would definitely disagree with that reviewer.

[@WilliamScavengerFish]

It was for the best that this game was not ported to the snes.

[@classicsagat]

Hey dude, I have a question; are you gonna do a video for FFT eventually?

[@WT_Neptune]

So my takeaway is that I should try out the Saga franchise?

[@kkahakusan5591]

Halfway through the vod; guess I'll go and play ff5 since I've been avoiding it cuz other RPG and also cuz I played ff6 several times and thought they looked similar enough

[@SiliconSlyWolf]

FF 5 too similar to FF 4 and not enough replay value? I'd love to see them eating their hats at the fact that FF 5 has various challenges around limiting what classes you can use for the entire run. If there was ever a time a subjective opinion was wrong, that was it.

[@boarMcberry]

at 1:06:25 , didn't that FF anime which is sequel to FF5 has the settings around 100 years, instead of few hundred years? coz Mid from the game in that anime albeit very old.

[@GaryYu-d2e]

longer and more structured music? I felt like ffv's music was actually shorter. like the battle theme was only 30 secs

[@GaryYu-d2e]

54:40 yeah the music did seem less replay value compared to 4... mainly because of how SHORT a lot felt in the OG...

[@AncestorEmpire1]

If I had millions of dollars, I’d remaster XenoGears/Xenosaga and finish the story Cody Rhodes meme sold separately

[@rundinj]

I know this isent about the story but I find myself wishing this had had a run through of the narrative as well. Or did I just miss the assigned reading?

[@Kwisatz-Chaderach]

5 is good

[@chrisharrison5880]

are they any good

[@S2K_World-G]

Awesome

[@ty_sylicus]

I will be honest, I don't recall much from the story of FINAL FANTASY III or V. Not that these games are good just that IV and VI are more memorable.

[@Deragon0416]

This Last True FF game will always be the best one

[@diegoarmando5489]

4 to 10 is the Golden Era.

[@WolfCyphr]

Oh, ffs...

[@usvidragonslayer3091]

Neat

[@armnakornthab6867]

Game was fun but story was lame.

[@patrickormerod3472]

1st